K2 Mission

About the K2 Mission

After the failure of two reaction wheels, the Kepler spacecraft was repurposed as the K2 mission in 2014. K2 observed different regions of the sky in a series of campaigns, using solar pressure to help stabilize its pointing. This allowed astronomers to study a wider variety of stars and planetary systems, including young stars, star clusters, and even supernovae.

K2 continued the search for exoplanets using the transit method, and its flexible observing strategy led to the discovery of hundreds of new worlds.

About the K2 Dataset

The K2 dataset includes detailed parameters for each planet candidate and host star. The data covers a wide range of stellar and planetary properties. Example features include:

• pl_name: Planet name
• hostname: Host star name
• discoverymethod: Method of discovery
• pl_orbper: Orbital period (days)
• pl_rade: Planet radius (Earth radii)
• pl_bmasse: Planet mass (Earth masses)
• st_teff: Stellar effective temperature (K)
• ...

See the full K2 feature list for more details.

Scientific Impact

K2 expanded the legacy of Kepler by exploring new regions of the sky and enabling discoveries in diverse stellar environments. Notable finds include K2-18b (a super-Earth in the habitable zone), K2-138 (a system of six planets in resonance), and K2-22b (a planet with a comet-like tail). The mission’s data continues to support research in exoplanet science and stellar astrophysics.